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Born in June? Here’s your birthstone

Posted by in Human World | 1 day ago

Happy birthday June babies! Your month has 3 birthstones – pearl, moonstone, and alexandrite.
A hurricane off the U.S. Eastern seaboard.

How do hurricanes get their names?

Posted by in Earth | Human World | 3 days ago

The World Meteorological Organization manages the formal system by which hurricanes receive their names. Find hurricane names for 2020 here.
Crew Dragon spacecraft docked with ISS.

SpaceX Crew Dragon is docked with ISS

Posted by in Human World | Space | 4 days ago

History was made again Sunday, with the successful docking of SpaceX Crew Dragon with the International Space Station. Astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley are aboard. There are more activities to come, which you can watch online. Links here.

How to spot ISS in your sky

Posted by in Human World | Space | 5 days ago

Learn to watch ISS moving silently and steadily across your night sky, and think of the 2 astronauts currently making their way there.

How are zoo animals handling the coronavirus shutdown?

Posted by in Human World | 1 week ago

How captive animals are coping with the sudden emptiness of the world’s zoos and aquariums.

Study finds microplastics in Florida birds of prey for 1st time

Posted by in Earth | Human World | 2 weeks ago

A new study has confirmed the presence of microplastics in birds of prey, including hawks, ospreys and owls. The accumulation of microplastics in birds’ digestive systems could lead to poisoning, starvation and death.

Seen from space: Covid-19 and the environment

Posted by in Earth | Human World | 2 weeks ago

Satellites see environmental changes during the coronavirus lockdown, including reduced pollution.
A squirrel on the grass.

Learn to recognize the wildlife out your window

Posted by in Earth | Human World | 2 weeks ago

With careful observation, you can start to recognize a particular squirrel, or that certain cardinal pair that hangs out on your feeder.
Two large striped insects

Murder hornets? 5 questions answered about Asian giant hornets in North America

Posted by in Earth | Human World | 3 weeks ago

Are ‘murder hornets’ from Asia invading North America? An entomologist who lived among them in Japan explains what’s true about the predatory insects.
Spring-green oak leaves in sunlight.

Submerged in water, this new device uses sunlight to produce energy

Posted by in Human World | 3 weeks ago

“The concept is broadly similar to an artificial leaf,” researchers said.

Hubble image of galaxy cluster RXC J0142.9+4438.

Cool! A Hubble photo translated to music

Posted by in Human World | Space | 4 weeks ago

There’s no sound in space. But – working with NASA – musicians and scientists turned a Hubble Space Telescope image of a galaxy cluster into music.

As the climate shifts, a border moves

Posted by in Earth | Human World | 4 weeks ago

Italy’s northern border with Switzerland depends on the natural, morphological boundaries of glaciers’ frontiers. But in recent years, glaciers have been melting at increased rates due to climate change. This has caused the border to shift noticeably.
Photograph of a Lohmann Brown hen by Konstantin Nikiforov

What are zoonotic diseases and what can we do about them?

Posted by in Human World | 4 weeks ago

Infectious diseases that leap from animals to humans are called zoonotic diseases. Covid-19 is an example of a zoonotic disease caused by a coronavirus.
Bluish half circle and smaller yellow half circle on a black background.

4 amazing astronomical discoveries from ancient Greece

Posted by in Astronomy Essentials | Human World | Space | 1 month ago

The ancients made some jaw-dropping discoveries without modern technology. For example, the size of the moon.
Map of the world criss-crossed with multi-colored lines.

Coronavirus genome like a shipping label that lets epidemiologists track where it’s been

Posted by in Human World | 1 month ago

Every time the virus copies itself it makes mistakes, creating a trail that researchers can use to build a family tree with information about where it’s traveled, and when.
Child with open hands. Light-filled particles in the air.

How coronavirus drifts through the air in microscopic droplets

Posted by in Human World | 1 month ago

Aerosols are the tiny particles of liquids and material that float around in our environment. When they come from an infected person, they may be a significant source of coronavirus transmission. The science of infectious aerosols.

Satellite images: Air pollution in India plummets

Posted by in Earth | Human World | 1 month ago

It’s nature with a much-decreased human influence. We’ve been hearing stories like this from all around the globe. People in India’s northern state of Punjab have reported seeing the Himalayas for the first time in decades. These satellite images over northern India show strikingly how aerosol levels have dropped since the Covid-19 lockdown began.

Dharti Ma – A Tribute to Earth

Posted by in Human World | 1 month ago

From Earth Day Network India … Dharti Ma literally translates to Mother Earth. This music video is a tribute to our planet, created In an amalgamation of styles by some of the finest musicians of India – and in 8 languages – to commemorate Earth Day’s 50th anniversary.

Hubble celebrates its 30th anniversary

Posted by in Human World | Space | 1 month ago

The Hubble Space Telescope was launched on April 24, 1990. It’s spent the past 3 decades acquiring magnificent images of distant space objects, providing a time machine that’s taken astronomers back to when the universe was less than a billion years old.
Person in spacesuit in vast expanse of barren red dirt.

Coronavirus quarantine useful lessons for future space travel?

Posted by in Human World | 1 month ago

Understanding isolation’s effects on regular people, rather than those certified to have ‘the right stuff,’ will help prepare us for the future, whether another pandemic or interplanetary space travel.